


The Arsonist's Soulmate

by sammysouffle (talesandthings)



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Smut, Not Canon Compliant, Out of Character, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Series, Season/Series 02, Self-Harm, Self-Mutilation, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-10-25 00:09:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10752627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesandthings/pseuds/sammysouffle
Summary: When Foggy's 14 years old, he meets his soulmate and that fateful day changes his life in the worst way possible.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My second take at a Soulmate AU I wrote a few weeks ago.

_**November 1999** _

When Foggy’s 14 years old, he witnesses a murder. He happens upon the scene by mistake by the time he realizes what’s happening, it’s too late.

It all starts one Monday evening as Foggy's walking home from softball practice. It’s that time of the year when 5 PM looks like 8 PM and the cold breeze makes you miss summer. Foggy doesn’t intend on investigating when he hears noises coming from an alleyway. Considering it’s Hell’s Kitchen, he knows it’s a terrible idea to intervene but he’s 14 and his curiosity gets the best of him. Foggy finds two men, scratch that one boy and one older man, arguing at the other end of the alley. Foggy hides behind the dumpster and his eyes widen when he realizes that the younger of the two, has a gun in his hand. Foggy can’t see his face because he has it hidden under hoodie but from his voice, Foggy guesses he’s a teenager too. The guy in the black hoodie suddenly hisses and grabs at his arm that’s not holding the gun. “Fuck,” he whines as he doubles over. Foggy isn’t sure what the older man did but the younger one looks like he's in pain.

A burning sensation shoots up Foggy’s own wrist, under the catcher's mitt, and he hisses in pain like the hoodie guy. Foggy doesn’t take his eyes off the two men, though, so he doesn’t miss when the older man goes to grab the gun from the hoodie guy. Before Foggy can even think about what he’s doing, he stands up and yells “Watch out!”

The older man stops in his tracks and throws a panicked glance his way. At the same time, the younger man stands up points the gun right between the older man’s eyes. Foggy gasps in horror as a loud bang resounds through the alley that sends all the doves flying away. The older man falls to the ground right before Foggy’s eyes, blood gushing out of his head. The guy in the hoodie doesn’t waste a minute as he whirls around and narrows his eyes at Foggy. The guy’s face is covered with a black and white bandana and all Foggy can see are his soulless light brown eyes. Foggy almost acts on automatic as he picks up his softball and throws it at the hoodie guy, as gets closer to him. Foggy doesn’t even turn to see if he hit its intended target as he takes off from the alley. But if the loud “Fuck” that the guy lets out was any indication, Foggy figures he was successful.

“Hey kid, get back here!” Foggy hears the guy yell from somewhere behind him but he doesn’t stop and runs as fast as his feet would take him. He hears footsteps behind him for almost a mile and despite the cold air, Foggy’s sweating in his shorts and hoodie. He doesn’t know much longer he can outrun the hoodie guy but then much to his relief, he hears police sirens. “Son of a bitch!” The guy yells again and Foggy finally chances a glance over his shoulder and finds that he’s all alone.

When Foggy finally gets home, he all but bangs on the door. “Alright, alright, I’m coming. No need to break my door down,” he hears his mother complain. As soon as the door opens, Foggy throws his arms around his mother, sending them both stumbling back. And then, he's bawling his eyes out. His mother is saying something but all he can hear is his own heartbeat in his ears and the sound of his cries.

Foggy doesn’t know how he gets to his room but he figures his dad helped. When he’s in his bed, Foggy numbly removes his catcher’s mitt. He clutches onto one of his pillows, as another wave of sob wracks through his body. His mother runs a gentle hand through his hair and Foggy can finally hear her worried voice. “Frankie, what happened, baby? You’re scaring me.”

Foggy shakes his head and turns away from her. He buries his head into the pillow and feels her run her fingers through his hair one more and then the hand is gone. A few seconds later, Foggy hears the door close, and he lets out a shaky breath and closes his eyes. He dreams of soulless brown eyes that night and a gun pointed at his head. “Bang,” he hears the man behind the brown eyes say and then Foggy finds himself on the ground.

Foggy wakes up with a loud gasp and his heart pounding in his chest. It takes him a few seconds to realize where he is and he lets out a sigh of relief. Foggy can hear loud noises outside and it takes him a minute to figure that they’re choppers. Foggy’s usually fascinated by the police choppers and he often makes up stories in his head as to why they're out. But tonight he doesn’t need to guess and he doesn’t dare open his windows and gaze up at the sky. He instead gets out of bed and closes the curtains before heading to his bathroom. It is times like these that Foggy’s glad he’s a stubborn little shit who fought tooth and nail to get the master bedroom. There’s no way he would have been able to go out right now without waking his parents up.

His hands shake as he takes off his clothes and lets them fall to the floor. He turns on the shower and then decides to pee while he waits for the warm water. The water still isn't warm enough when he gets in the shower, and it makes his whole body shiver and his teeth clatter. Once Foggy's body adjusts to the cold, he reaches out to pick up his shampoo, and something catches his eye. He gasps and snatches his hand back like he's been burned. Foggy's heart picks up its pace again as he examines his left wrist. “What the fuck?” he whispers to himself as his right thumb traces over an unfamiliar tattoo over his pulse point. He has no idea where he got that from. He’s pretty sure he would have noticed if he ever got himself a tattoo. And then it hits him. A soulmate mark. His dad has a Lady Justice with the initials R.S. drawn on his right shoulder. Dad never told him who this R.S. person is and doesn’t like showing off the mark either. All dad ever told him was that a tattoo appears on your skin when your first meet your soulmate. Foggy doesn’t have a Lady Justice, instead, he has a skull with the letters F above the skull and C below it in bold letters. It’s not big enough and the skull has a freaky looking teeth on the bottom that’s a little scary. Foggy finds himself staring the mark for what seems like hours. He met his soulmate today and didn’t even realize it. How could it simultaneously be the best and the worst day of his life? And then he remembers the sharp pain that he felt on wrist earlier today when- SHIT.

The next morning, Foggy’s parents try to play it cool around him but fail. They tell him he doesn’t have to go to school today and his mom even makes him his favorite Peach Cobbler for breakfast. Foggy knows for a fact that they didn’t have any peaches so that means his dad went out and got them this morning. Yeah, they’re definitely more worried about him than they’re letting on. They eat breakfast in silence and his parents don’t ask him any questions. But they do exchange a few glances when they think Foggy isn’t looking. Foggy taps his foot on the floor and his eyes keep darting towards the newspaper that’s on top of the counter. He’s anxious to pick up the newspaper and read about the incident from yesterday. It has to be front news.

Foggy jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see his mother giving him an apologetic look. “Sorry Frankie didn’t mean to scare you but your dad’s been asking you something.”

Foggy throws a glance to his left to find his dad looking worried again. “Yeah, dad?” Foggy’s voice sounds small to his own ears.

“Oh, I was just asking if you and Brett are still planning on going to that new James Bond on Saturday?” His dad asks after a minute of hesitation and Foggy knows that’s not really what he wanted to ask.

“ _The World is Not Enough_? I dunno dad, it doesn’t look as good as the last one,” Foggy mumbles stabbing at his cobbler with the fork.

“Nonsense, you can’t decide that without actually watching the movie, Frankie. Your dad will take you if Bess is busy,” his mom offers.

Foggy shrugs and pushes aside the food. He really doesn’t feel like eating.

“Frankie-” Foggy’s mom says his name with so much sympathy that it makes Foggy cringe.

“Anna, it’s okay,” his dad, bless his soul, cuts off her off.

The rest of the breakfast is spent in silence and while they’re cleaning up, his dad finally speaks up again. “What happened to your hand, son?”

Foggy lifts his bandage wrapped wrist and shrugs again. “Nothing dad. Sprained it while playing softball,” he lies. His dad doesn’t any more questions much to Foggy’s relief. He doesn’t even mention that the sprain is on Foggy’s left hand, not his right.

While his folks do the dishes, Foggy grabs the newspaper and rushes out of the kitchen before any more awkward conversations. He scours the pages for a news on last night's shooting but finds nothing on the front page. Foggy even double and then triple checks the date and confirms that it is today’s paper. There’s not a single mention of the shooting anywhere. Instead, the headlines focus on some random rich guy named Wilson Fisk. It’s the age of the dot-com bubble, a new millionaire pops up every day. How is some guy who likely end up broke in two months more important than a local shooting?

As Foggy’s about to give up and close the newspaper, he eyes land on one of the articles on later pages. It's a tiny article written by Ben Urich. Urich is Foggy’s favorite, he always reports on the important stuff. The article mentions the shooting and says that the guy who was killed is a local banker named Adam Devito. Foggy’s breath hitches as he reads the name. That’s why the guy looked familiar. Adam Devito’s daughter Sarah Devito is in a few of Foggy’s classes. Sarah’s always been so nice to Foggy. Foggy isn’t sure how he’ll face her again, considering he’s in part responsible for Mr. Devito’s death. At the end, it says that two 17-year-olds named Billy Russo and Frank Castle were taken in for questioning by NYPD. But were bailed out by alleged mob boss Michael Giacomo within two hours. Shit, the killer is part of the mob, Foggy realizes. It takes him a while but then his jaw drops when reads one of the names again. _Frank Castle_. Foggy throws aside the newspaper, unwraps the bandage and traces his fingers over the soulmate mark again. F.C. He knows who killed Mr. Devito. Now he just needs to relay this information to the cops.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy decides to confront Frank. Ends up meeting someone else instead.

_**September 2003** _

Foggy never ends up going to the cops. But he does end up with a lot of guilt. Throughout high school, Foggy couldn’t even look Sarah Devito’s way without his guilt meter dialing up to a 100. Foggy also hasn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep since that day. He spends each night having nightmares about the soulless eyes and then wakes up in cold sweats. He also hasn’t spent a day walking home alone and makes Brett go everywhere with him. He never told anyone what he saw. Not even his parents. They know there’s something wrong with him and even tried sending him to a shrink.

Despite living in constant fear, Foggy becomes very determined. He never wants to go through the same guilt again. He wants to fight for the people who don’t have a voice and he wants to put people like Frank Castle behind bars. That's why he decides to become a lawyer. Foggy still isn’t sure why he was never able to testify against Castle. He vehemently believes, it has _everything_ to do with the fact that he’s scared of Castle and _nothing_ to do with the fact that the guy is his soulmate.

Foggy keeps his soulmate mark hidden from view because he hates the thing with a fiery passion. After keeping it bandaged for a week, Foggy found a leather cuff back in freshman year. It is the perfect size and it keeps him and anyone else from seeing the tattoo. Everyday Foggy wishes there was a way to get rid of permanently.

The summer before Foggy’s due for college, he obsessively does research on Castle. He doesn't find much on the guy except for an article that talks about him testifying in a case. After much snooping Foggy finds his address and then hides it away in one of his books. He gives himself a pep talk everyday after that and tells himself that he won't stop living in fear if he doesn't do something. He needs the man held accountable for what he did. Who knows, how many more people the man has killed in the last four years. Foggy can’t help but feel like all those deaths are on his head too. Because he didn’t do anything when he had a chance to.

A week before he’s due for college, Foggy finally takes the train to Queens where Castle apparently lives. Foggy isn’t sure what he’s going to say to Castle when he encounters him. Foggy isn’t even sure if he’ll make it out alive after this meeting. His hands shake and his heart hammers in his chest when he arrives at the apartment building. He paces outside the main door for a good 20 minutes, wondering if he should ring the buzzer.

As he's contemplating, a young woman with blonde hair approaches the building. She’s heavily pregnant and looks like she’s struggling with her shopping bags so Foggy rushes to her side. “Hey, let me help you,” he says as he taking the bags.

The woman looks doubtful but then a bright smile spreads across her face. “Thank you,” she says as Foggy leads her up the few stairs. “You don’t find many helpful people out here.”

“What can I say, my momma raised a gentleman.”

The woman giggles as she starts punching in the number on the keypad. “That she did. So are you here to meet someone?”

“Yeah, I’m actually looking for someone and I’m told he lives in this building.”

“Oh yeah? What’s his name? I know a quite a few people here. Maybe I can help?” the woman offers.

“Oh uh, his name is Frank Castle.”

The woman gasps at that. She slowly turns to Foggy and gives him a horrified look. “F-Frank. What do you want with him?” She asks with an edge in her voice.

“You know him?”

“Are you from the Giacomo family? And don’t lie to me, I can weed out liars,” the woman warns him and points a finger in his face.

Foggy looks at her, confused, and then it hits him. The Giacomo family. The people who bailed Castle out after Mr. Devito’s murder. “No, I’m not from the Giacomo family. My name’s Franklin and I know Frank from Hell’s Kitchen.” He wasn’t about to give her the name he's known by.

The woman purses her lips and considers him for a moment before opening her mouth again. “Frank’s not here right now. He got deployed to Afghanistan four months ago.”

“Deployed?” Foggy asks, scrunching up his face in confusion. “Wait, he joined the Army? How?”

“What do you mean _how_?” The woman sounds offended and she puts her hands on her hips to glare at him. 

Foggy sighs and sets the grocery bags on the ground, “I mean- I know what he did.”

“I thought you said you didn’t work for the mob,” the woman notes as she crosses her arms across her chest.

“I don’t. I mean look at me, dude. Do I look like I work for the mob?”

“I don’t know what people who work for the mob are supposed to look like.”

“Uh, Italian?” Foggy suggests

That makes the woman smile again, “With a name like Franklin, I’d say you’re pretty Italian.”

“I am pretty sure my family’s Irish,” Foggy counters. “So you know Frank?”

The woman hesitates for a moment before nodding, “Yeah, I’m his wife, Maria.”

Foggy looks between woman’s outstretched hand and her face. He definitely wasn’t expecting Frank to be married. “Oh uh, nice to meet you,” he finally replies and shakes her hand.

“I’m sorry I can’t invite you upstairs. Frank's still worried that there are people after him. Although you look far from a hitman, I’d rather not take my chances,” Maria explains. She then puts her hand on top of her round belly and starts to take a seat on the stairs.

Foggy helps her before taking a seat next to her. “That’s fine. I’m definitely not a hitman. I don’t even know how a gun works.” And I never will, he reminds himself.

Maria chuckles and flips back her blonde hair, “Yeah? I learned how to shoot one when I was 15.”

Foggy blinks at her, “Seriously? What you’re in the mob too?”

“No, but I spent my teenage years in Texas,” Maria replies as she leans back and rubs her hand over her tummy.

“Yikes. What did you do to deserve that?”

“My dad was in the Army too. We moved around a lot.”

Foggy nods and stays silent for a few beats before asking, “So how did Castle end up in the army?”

“You mean, how is he not in prison?” Maria asks raising an eyebrow at him. She continues when Foggy nods at her. “Well, he and his friend helped bring down the Giacomo family. The D.A. cut a deal with them.”

Foggy isn’t sure how to feel about that. He’s pretty sure Castle should be in there with them too. “Oh. That’s nice of the D.A.”

Maria nods, “Yeah, Reyes is a little scary but she’s pretty cool. We owe her a lot. She’s kind of the reason Frank and I are able to start a family now.”

Foggy’s surprised by the ease with which Maria opens up to him. “So how did you and Castle meet?”

“You first,” Maria counters, a cheeky smile playing across her lips.

Foggy gulps and thinks about how to answer that. He really hadn’t thought this through. “We were neighbors for some time. Then my family moved,” he replies after some contemplation.

“Oh. But do you still live in Hell’s Kitchen?”

“Yeah but not for long. I’m going off to college in a week. Figured I’d do my rounds and say my goodbyes before I leave,” Foggy says with a nervous chuckle.

“Nice. You going out of state?”

Foggy bites his bottom lip and nods, “Yeah. Harvard.” He easily lies again.

“Fancy. Good for you, kid. I was gonna go to college. Now I gotta wait a few years after this little one is born,” Maria says fondly as she continues to rub her swollen tummy.

Foggy looks at her pregnant stomach and smiles, “Do you know what you’re having?”

“I didn’t care but the doctor ended up telling me anyway. It’s supposed to be a girl. I’ve had a lot of time on my hands since we moved here and kind of ended up planning everything for her. From her name to her wedding dress.”

Foggy gapes at her, “You’re kidding.”

Maria laughs again and shakes her head, “I’m really not. Frank wants us to be careful so I don’t have a lot of contact with anyone these days and I don’t work so... I waste my time planning my unborn child’s future.”

“Interesting. So you still haven’t told me how you and Castle met.”

“I used to live in Hell’s Kitchen as a kid and I met Frank on the first day of kindergarten. He pulled my ponytail while we were playing tag and I socked him in the face. He got a black eye and everything. But Frank didn’t snitch me out so we became friends after that. My family moved to Texas when I was 13 but I never forgot about Frank, ya know? He was my first love and all. So the day I turned 18, I packed everything and moved back to New York to look for him.”

Foggy suddenly has major respect for this woman. “Wow, that’s pretty ballsy.”

“What can I say, I’m a bit of a daredevil,” Maria replies, throwing a wink his way.

“Yeah? You planning on jumping Green Canyon River on your rocket cycle anytime soon?”

“Oh hell yeah. I’d do it 9 months pregnant too. And unlike Knievel, I’d actually succeed.”

Foggy tips his head back and laughs and for a minute he forgets who he’s talking to.

Maria giggles also before saying, “You have no idea how good it feels to finally talk to someone. Well, someone who isn’t my paranoid neighbor who thinks the government is spying on us through the microwave."

“Oh no, not the microwave. But they’re definitely spying on us through the television set _and_ the computer,” Foggy jokes. He watches in amusement as Maria rolls her eyes at him. Foggy falls silent again and mulls over his next question before asking it anyway. “So, Castle, you think he’s a changed man now?”

“I don’t know what he was like when you knew him, but the Frank Castle of now is _different_. He made some mistakes and now he’s trying to make amends. I’m really proud of him.” A fond smile falls over Maria’s face as she says that.

Foggy isn’t sure if joining the Army makes any difference. Castle’s still a killer and now he can do it legally. He wasn’t about to say this to Maria, though. “You really love him,” he says instead.

“Yeah, I do. I hold him accountable for his action and make sure he knows I am not letting him get away with things. He needs that sometimes.”

Foggy sighs. It tugs at his heart to hear Maria praise her husband. Foggy’s spent the last four years seething in hatred for the guy. He doesn't see him the way Maria does. “I- I should get going,” Foggy says standing up and brushing off his jeans.

Maria gives him a sad pout in return, “Do you have to?”

“Yeah, I’m still not done packing and my mom will bite my head off if I don’t finish today,” he explains with the roll of his eyes. “I can help get your groceries to the elevator, though.”

“Thanks,” Maria replies and opens the main door.

Foggy waits for the elevator beside Maria and he can feel her looking at him. “What?” He asks when she doesn’t stop staring.

“Franklin, what’s your last name?” She asks, surprising Foggy.

Foggy’s surprised by her question and he opens and closes his mouth a few times trying to figure out what to tell her. He tried coming up with a fake last name but got nothing. That's until his eyes land on a noticeboard behind them with an old boxing poster plastered on it. “Uh it’s Murdock. Franklin Murdock,” he replies taking the name from some guy named ‘Battlin’ Jack Murdock.

Maria’s lips form an o and then she looks disappointed.

“Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if you were the F.N.”

“Huh?” Foggy asks just as the elevator dings. Foggy puts Maria’s stuff in the elevator and then holds the door as he waits for her response.

“Frank soulmate mark has the initials F.N. on it and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out who could it be. When you said your name was Franklin, I started wondering if it was you,” she replies with a sheepish smile.

Foggy’s heart skips a beat and lets out a nervous laugh. “Oh, it’s definitely not me.”

Maria gives him an odd look before nodding, “It doesn’t matter. Because he also has my initials and soulmate mark on him too.”

Foggy blinks at her and doesn’t know how to respond to that. He knows some people have two soulmates. He just never figured his soulmate would be one of those people. “That’s nice I guess. Anyway, I should really get going.”

Maria nods again, “Okay. Hopefully, I'll see you around, Franklin. Come back when Frank gets back from Afghanistan.

Yeah, that’s not gonna happen, Foggy wants to say. But instead, he says, “I’ll try. I’ll see you around.”

“Awesome. I love your leather cuff by the way,” she says just as Foggy lets the elevator door go.

Foggy just stands there for a few minutes, his gaze lingering over his leather cuff and then he sighs. This was not how he expected this day to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy meets Matt.

_**September 2003** _

The first week of college and Foggy falls in love. It’s one of those cliche love at first sight type of things that Foggy was sure didn’t happen outside of fiction. That is until Matt Murdock walks through the door of his dorm room. Matt charms his way into Foggy's heart with his warm smile, carefree attitude, dorky hair.

Foggy’s heart picks up its speed anytime Matt is around and he tries hard not to but he ends up staring at him anyway. Foggy also starts wearing long sleeve clothes all the time. It’s his way of adding an extra level of barrier between himself and his soulmate mark. Matt never asks him about his soulmate and Foggy’s too scared to ask Matt about his. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to take it if Matt already has someone.

The topic of soulmates only comes up when Foggy comes back to his and Matt’s shared room after the first day of classes.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asks from the study desk when Foggy lets out a loud sigh and falls onto his bed, his feet hanging off the edge.

“I didn’t get an add code to the Creative Minds class. I really wanted that class as a GE,” Foggy complains as he blindly reaches out for his laptop on the foot of the bed. “This is unfair, man. I mean, why have 15 waitlist spots when you don’t have enough add codes to give all the students? We need to protest this terrible system.”

Matt’s chuckle makes Foggy throw a glare his way. “I am glaring at you right now,” he announces before going through the class schedules PDF again. “I have to find a new elective. I need full course loads each semester if I want to graduate in 4 years instead of 10.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t take you 10 years to graduate if you don’t take full course loads, Foggy.”

“You don’t know that Matthew,” Foggy complains and. “How are your classes going? Did you get into all of them?”

“You know it, baby.”

Foggy scrunches up his nose in faux disgust, “Never call me that again.”

Matt’s laugh rings through their whole room and it makes Foggy’s heart skip a beat. “Aw, you don’t like it? _Baby_.” This time his voice gets a little deeper as he says the word, and it makes Foggy shudder. He refuses to look Matt’s way as he hears his friend stand up and make his way over to the bed. He knocks his knee against Foggy’s shin, prompting him to move before he lies down beside him. The twin bed isn’t big enough for the both of them so Matt pretty much has his head on Foggy’s shoulder. “I wish we had more classes together,” Matt mumbles after a few minutes.

Foggy stays completely still for a bit. But then he sighs and closes his laptop before turning to look at his roommate. “Why would you want more classes with me, buddy? We spend pretty much all our waking moments together anyway.”

“Because I like being with you.”

Foggy tries hard not to read too much into those six words. Matt has a sad little pout on his face that makes Foggy's heart flutter. Yep, he’s definitely a sucker for this man. If Matt could see hin, he would be pretty freaked out by the looks Foggy’s been sending his way. “I’m glad to hear that bud,” Foggy says with a fake chuckle and slaps on Matt’s thigh before sitting up on his bed. The jerky movement gives him a head rush and he shakes his head before walking over to their shared desk. He moves aside Matt’s stuff and hooks up the ethernet cable to his laptop. Matt is eerily quiet the whole time that Foggy almost forgets he's still there.

“Foggy, why do you always wear that leather cuff?” Matt asks just as Foggy sits down at the desk.

Foggy’s hands pause over the lid of his laptop and he pulls at the sleeve of his hoodie. “I- um- What can I say, man? I love to accessorize,” he jokes and laughs nervously.

Matt stays quiet for a minute and Foggy fidgets with his sleeve. He tries not to turn around and see the expression on his friend’s face.

“So what are you going to do about your GE class?” Matt asks, dropping the subject.

Foggy lets out a sigh of relief and opens up his laptop again. “I’ll let you know once I get this damn laptop to boot up and connect to the shitty internet.”

Matt goes quiet again and Foggy throws a glance over his shoulder to find him sprawled on the bed. He also has one of Foggy's pillows clutched to his chest. Foggy hates it when Matt does that because his bed and pillows start to smell like Matt's expensive shampoo and cologne. They have a mild scent but still linger on Foggy's stuff and it drives Foggy insane at night. Foggy gulps and tears his eyes away from Matt instead focusing on finding open classes. He finally comes across something that looks remotely interesting. “Huh, Intro to Soulmate Studies. That sounds cool,” he wonders out loud. He purses his lips and turns to face Matt again when he hears his roommate snort. “What?”

“Soulmate Studies? Seriously?” Matt asks as he looks past Foggy and at the wall behind him.

Foggy doesn’t like the patronizing tone of his roommate’s voice and he completely turns his chair look at him. “And what’s wrong with that?”

“There’s nothing _wrong_ with it, Foggy,” Matt says as he sits up on the bed and leans back against the headrest. “It’s just that Soulmate Studies is pseudoscience at best, much like Astrology. I mean they wouldn’t offer Astrology as an elective let alone as a major in college. Then why do that with Soulmate Studies?

“Dude, Soulmate Studies doesn’t claim to be Science. It’s Humanities, you know because it’s the study of humans?” Foggy counters, with an edge in his voice.

“Look, Foggy, I’m not against the idea of you taking this class. By all means, go ahead but I don’t know what you hope to get out of it.”

“Doesn’t the idea of soulmates fascinate you, Matt? I mean this symbol just appears out of nowhere on your body-”

“That’s exactly my point, Foggy,” Matt argues as he throws aside the pillow. “You get this mark on your body and then you’re suddenly meant to spend the rest of your life with someone you don’t even know. What if it doesn’t work out? Then you’re left with this horrible reminder of them.”

Foggy sighs. He can't argue with Matt there. His own dad went through the same shit. Foggy slaps his hands against his thigh before getting up from the chair. “Look, man, I don’t know what your problem is with soulmates. But this is literally the only class that looks even remotely tolerable so I gotta take my chances.”

“This isn’t about the class, Foggy.”

Foggy huffs and reaches out to smack Matt on the arm, “No shit, buddy. You wanna talk about it?”

“It’s my mom, you know? She was my dad’s true soulmate. She left him when I was a baby and my dad was never the same after that. She was his anchor and she kept him afloat. And he drowned after she left. My grandparents always said that it was only a matter of time before my dad got himself killed. And ultimately he did.” A dark shadow falls Matt’s face when he stops talking and Foggy takes an involuntary step back.

“M-Matt, it’s okay. You don’t have to talk about this, bud,” Foggy stutters and then watches in shock as Matt’s back to himself in an instant.

Matt reaches out and grabs Foggy by his hoodie before dragging him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispers burying his face into Foggy’s hair.

Foggy’s a little stunned and he lets his hands hang by his side uselessly. He sighs and brings them around Matt to hug him back after a few seconds. “It’s okay, Matty,” Foggy assures him and hopes Matt doesn’t mind the nickname.

“Foggy, you’ll tell me if you meet your soulmate, right?” Matt asks when they pull apart. He lets his hands linger on Foggy’s waist. Matt isn’t even looking at Foggy, instead, his focus is a little to right, but Foggy still feels a little uneasy under the gaze.

Foggy licks his lips and contemplates if he should tell Matt that he already met his soulmate. But then decides against it. He can’t bring himself to lie to his friend so instead, he says, “I don’t think there will be anything to tell, man. I am fascinated by the idea of soulmates but at the end of the day I agree with you.”

“What do you mean?”

Foggy shrugs and takes a seat at the chair again. “The universe has a shitty sense of humor. I also wish this whole soulmate thing didn’t exist because you never know who you’ll end up with.”

His answer seems to please Matt if the bright smile on his face is anything to go by.

_**March 2005** _

Things change a lot by the time Foggy is in sophomore year.

For one, Foggy stops having nightmares and isn’t as scared of walking alone in the dark anymore. He likes to think it’s all because of Matt and the fact that his best friend makes him feel safe. He never told Matt about what he saw 6 years ago and the guilt he has been living with since. He still can’t bring himself to talk about it any of it.

Foggy also gets fascinated by Soulmate Studies and adds the subject as a minor in Sophomore year. Matt isn’t impressed by his decision but he learns to keep his mouth shut. Foggy learns a lot about soulmates and he finally understands how people get a soulmate. It’s an interesting process and both Foggy and Matt had it all wrong. For starters, not all soulmates get into a relationship. Certain soulmates are platonic. That’s what Foggy’s dad and his first wife were. His dad was mad when this R.S person left but he wasn’t broken up about in the way Matt’s dad was.

Now Matt’s dad and his wife were probably the romantic soulmates or the “true soulmates” as they're called. These people form a bond and fall in love before they get their mark. These soulmates are usually like two halves who find their way to each other and become one. And as much as it hurts Foggy to admit it, he’s pretty sure Matt has found his true soulmate too.

Matt meets Elektra during sophomore year. So that’s another big change that comes into Foggy’s life. Because somehow every decision, every change in Matt’s life affects Foggy too. Elektra is like a whirlwind who sweeps Matt away. Foggy has never met her but he can see the effect she has had on Matt’s life. Foggy’s happy for him but he’s also worried about him at the same, despite Matt’s constant reassurance that he’s okay. Matt always goes missing during the night and comes back the next morning tired to the bone. He misses classes and even skips two mid-terms because he can’t drag himself out of bed in the morning. Foggy’s almost afraid that he’ll drop out. Foggy knows it’s not only sex that’s keeping him up at night. There’s much more to his relationship with Elektra than that. She completes him and it breaks Foggy’s heart. Ever since Foggy found out about “true soulmates,” he always thought he would be Matt’s. But despite the fact Matt doesn’t have a mark on his skin yet, Foggy’s pretty sure it’s only a matter of time before he gets it.

Turns out Matt was right about something. There is some science or at least pseudoscience behind the process soulmate assignments. An algorithm is used to assign soulmates and there’s probability involved too. It is all based on family history, which includes everything from occupation to health. Depending on these parameters, it is determined what type of life a person will lead. The universe sometimes decides that certain people are born to lead a “doomed life” for the lack of a better term. These people are assigned two soulmates i.e. a romantic and a platonic soulmate. The two soulmates provide the person with the extra support. This new knowledge helps Foggy relax a little. Platonic soulmates get their mark when they first meet. Foggy knows for a fact that he is meant to be Frank’s platonic soulmate. His wife, Maria, is most likely his true soulmate. Foggy tries hard not to think about the fact that Frank might go through some shit later in life. Which would lead him to need both his soulmates. Soulmate or not, Foggy doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to stand in the same room as that guy. Ever since his conversation with Maria, Foggy has stopped obsessively researching Frank. Years ago he had this incessant need to prove to himself that he did the right thing by not going to the police. He even dug up some dirt on Mr. Devito to make himself feel better but that made him feel like a shittier person in the end. Foggy liked Maria and at least for her sake, he hopes Frank has changed. And both both his and Frank’s sake, Foggy hopes he never comes across the man. He knows for a fact that it won’t end well for either of them.

_**May 2005** _

Two weeks before finals, Foggy meets Marci. He hasn’t been hanging out with Matt and he sulks around campus when Marci finds him and takes pity on him. Marci belongs in the fourth type of soulmate category. She’s someone who’s born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She’s one of those people who will probably never need a soulmate. Even if she does have one out there, they would be someone who’s on the same playing field as her. These types of soulmates are the least dependent on each other but they are very devoted and loyal. Marci hasn’t found that poor unfortunate soul yet and will gladly fuck Foggy in the meantime. Marci has a wild streak and she is a great teacher. She helps Foggy realize that he might be a bottom.

They never talk about Matt, but that all changes one night while they’re actually studying for finals.

“So you’re in love with your roommate?” She asks casually as Foggy’s busy highlighting in his Intro to Comparative Politics book.

Foggy drops his highlighter and blinks at her, trying to figure out how he’s supposed to answer that. “Uh-”

“Oh don’t bother lying to me, Foggy Bear. It’s written all over your face.”

Foggy lets out a deep sigh and nods, “Yeah, I am. He doesn’t feel the same way, though.”

“How do you know that? Did you tell him?” She shoots back as she crosses her legs on the bed and turns to face him.

Foggy taps his closed highlighter on the book and shrugs, “I think he has met his soulmate. He’s out with her every night. And he’s _changed_ ever since she's come around. He’s acting different and is even scaring me a little.”

Foggy notices as Marci tenses beside him, “What do you mean? Did he hurt-”

“What? No! Not like that, Marci. I am scared _for_ him. He’s in too deep with this woman and I am scared he’ll get hurt in the end.”

“Why do you think that? I mean if she’s his soulmate as you claim, then shouldn’t they actually be close?”

Foggy sighs and tosses his book aside. “Yeah, but he’s barely known her for two months and he’s already skipping classes and midterms for her. He stays out doing god knows what and I am pretty sure I saw blood on his shirt two nights ago.”

“Damn,” Marci exhales before taking Foggy’s left hand into her own. “There could a thousand different explanations for that, Foggy Bear.”

“What about the blood?”

“He probably got into a fight. You know how college guys are. He’s young. She probably gives him an adrenaline rush and he enjoys that. You’re being paranoid,” Marci tries to persuade him and reaches out to touch his cheek. “Why don’t you ever take this cuff off, by the way?” She asks, changing the subject.

Foggy snatches his hand away from her grip and presses it to his chest. “Uh please don’t touch that.”

“Why?” Marci questions with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“I don’t like it.”

Marci nods and doesn’t say anything after that. Instead, she opens her book and starts reading through it. Foggy goes back to his Comparative Politics book and starts highlighting again. He rests his left hand on the bed and after a few minutes, he feels Marci’s fingers trying to pull back at the leather cuff. Foggy gasps and tries to pull his hand away but Marci grabs it into a tight grip. “Marci, let go!” Foggy whines.

“No, not until you tell me why you won’t let me touch the cuff,” Marci replies stubbornly and then her blue eyes widen. “Foggy, are you cutting yourself?”

“What? No!”

“Then show me!”

Foggy groans in frustration and decides to stop struggling. “Fine you wanna know?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a soulmate mark. I don’t want you to see my soulmate mark," he whispers dejectedly and closes his eyes.

It’s Marci’s turn to gasp and drops his hand immediately, “That’s- wow- why didn’t you tell me you had a soulmate? Wait, is it your roommate?”

“Unfortunately, no. Turns out it’s not the person I actually love,” Foggy says as he looks down at his lap.

“Oh, Foggy Bear,” Marci whispers sympathetically and reaches out to take Foggy’s hand again. “I’m so sorry.”

Foggy bites on his bottom lip and then sighs again, “I should go,” he mumbles after a beat.

“Foggy, no. You don’t have to. I won’t ask you anything about your soulmate,” Marci promises and bumps her shoulder against his. When Foggy looks up at her again, he finds the same mischievous glint in her eyes that he saw earlier. “I actually got something to help you destress for the finals.”

“What?”

Marci lets go of Foggy’s hand and reaches behind her into her nightstand. She comes back with lube and a phallic shaped toy that looks like a vibrator. Foggy gulps and looks between Marci and the toy, “What is that?”

“It’s a rabbit vibrator. I wanted to try this on you. I think you’ll love it,” she says with a sexy smirk that almost makes her look predatory.

Foggy gulps again and watches as Marci pushes all the books and other stationary on the floor. She then pushes Foggy back into her bed and Foggy goes willingly.

* * *

 

Marci was right. Foggy did end up enjoying it. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he considering getting himself one of those vibrators.

When Foggy’s back to his dorm room, he finds the door slightly ajar. His heart skips a beat and his immediate thought is that they got robbed. With a shaky hand, Foggy pushes the door open and a shiver runs through his body as he realizes how cold it is in the room. “Hello? Matt?” Foggy calls out and moves his books into a defensive position, ready to bash it over anyone's head. The room is in complete darkness and Foggy isn’t sure if he should turn the light on, in case the burglars are still in here. Foggy doesn’t hear any noise but then finds a shadowy figure on his bed. Foggy’s heart threatens to leap out of his chest as he approaches his bed. Everything that happened 6 years ago comes rushing back and hits him like a freight train.

“Foggy?” a familiar voice calls out and Foggy lets out a relieved sigh.

“Jesus, Matt, you scared the shit out me. Why are you sitting in the dark? And more importantly why is the door open?” Foggy asks as he throws his books down on Matt’s bed.

Matt doesn’t say anything and Foggy sighs before sitting down on the bed in front of his friend. The light coming from the quad partially illuminates Matt’s face. Foggy is immediately taken aback by his disheveled hair and tear-stained cheeks. “Fuck, what happene-” Foggy starts to ask but then pauses when he notices something glint in the light. His eyes travel towards Matt’s hands and finds him holding something sharp. Foggy shoots out of his bed and turns on the bedside lamp, “Matt, what the hell happened to your hands? And what are you doing with that knife?” He asks as he slowly sits down beside his friend again. Matt’s knuckles are bruised and bleeding, and for some reason he’s holding onto a chef’s knife. When Foggy tries to take the knife away from Matt, Matt pulls it back, refusing to let go.

“Matty, come on, you’re scaring me,” Foggy cries out as he rests a hand on Matt’s thigh.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, Foggy,” Matt whispers as a fresh trail of tears makes their way down his cheek. “Elektra-” his breath hitches and bites onto his bottom lip “-she left, Foggy.”

Shit. And this right here is exactly what Foggy was scared of. “I’m so sorry, Matty,” Foggy mumbles. He isn't sure what else he is supposed to say. “Do you wanna talk about it? Maybe after you set that blade aside?”

Another wave of sob wracks Matt’s body and he sets the knife beside him. Foggy exhales a sharp breath and goes to pick up the knife but Matt grabs his hand. “No,” he cries and pushes Foggy’s hand away. Much to Foggy’s surprise Matt then starts unbuttoning his shirt. His confusion is short-lived when he notices the mark on Matt’s chest. Foggy removes his hand from Matt’s thigh and brings it up to his mouth. The mark looks like an angry red imprint and is without a doubt a soulmate mark. Unlike the small skull mark on Foggy’s wrist, Matt has two sai swords intersecting each other with the letters E.N. written between them on his chest.

“Shit,” Foggy gasps. “When did you-”

“Get it?” Matt finishes the question for him. He’s not crying anymore but he does draw in a sharp breath before continuing, “Right after I told her I loved her.”

“Oh fuck, Matty, I- I don’t even know what to say.”

“It’s okay, Foggy. I don’t need you to say anything,” Matt whispers and Foggy watches him gulp before he picks up the knife again. “I need you to help me remove it,” he says offering the knife to Foggy.

Foggy jumps off the bed again and jaw drops open, “What the fuck?! Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“I can’t see it, Foggy, so I can’t do it myself but you can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that ended up being a bit darker than intended.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt and Foggy have a falling out before summer break. 
> 
> Foggy meets an old acquaintance again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Allusions to self-harm towards the end.

_**CONT.** _

Later in life, Foggy will probably regret this but at the time it seemed like his only option. He lunges forward and smashes his lips against Matt's. His friend doesn’t kiss him back -not that Foggy expected him to- and then Foggy feels him weakly pushing at his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” He asks.

“I- I’m sorry. It just hurts to see you like this, Matt.”

Matt looks a bit struck and then he gingerly runs his fingers over his lips. “Why did you kiss me?”

Foggy lets out a sigh and looks down at the sheets instead. He's relieved to see that the knife has fallen out of Matt's hand. “Because I love you,” he mumbles under his breath. 

There’s a hitch in Matt’s breath and Foggy knows he heard that. “Foggy,” Matt whispers and reaches out to take Foggy’s hand. “I- I don’t-”

Foggy’s shoulders sag and it feels like his heart is getting ripped out of his chest as he says, “I don’t expect you say anything, Matty. But I do want you to promise me something.”

Matt takes in a shattered breath and Foggy looks up to see tears forming in his eyes again. “What?” He asks in a sad, broken voice.

Foggy lets go of Matt’s hand and then reaches out to button up his shirt again. “Promise me you won’t hurt yourself. I know you’re sad that she’s gone and it’s probably going to hurt for a while but I want you to know that I’m here for you. As your friend, of course,” he adds quickly and moves his hand up to touch Matt’s cheek. “You can always count on me, buddy. Besides, mutilating the mark won’t make it go away. It will just reappear in a few days. So please, Matty, promise me you won’t try removing it.”

Matt considers his words for a few minutes and then pushes the knife to the floor before wrapping his arms around Foggy and hugging him tightly. “I miss her, Foggy. I miss her so much,” he whispers into Foggy’s neck.

Foggy's heart aches as he runs his hand through Matt's hair and whispers back, "I know, Matty. I know.”

_**June 2005** _

They don't talk about Elektra after that. But they don't have to. Foggy always thought Matt’s opinion on soulmates were a bit extreme but now those extreme views are on a whole other level. 

Matt also starts clinging to Foggy in a way that Foggy isn’t sure is healthy for either of them. Then the end of the semester comes around and all hell breaks loose.

It starts the day Foggy’s packing to leave for home.

“We should get our own place,” Matt suggests lingering at the bathroom door.

Foggy huffs out a laugh as he throws in his shampoo and aftershave into the ziplock. “Yeah, sure buddy. Right after I rob a bank, we can go buy ourselves a nice apartment upstate.”

Matt groans disapprovingly and then says, “I’m not kidding, Foggy. I didn’t spend a dime of my dad’s life insurance money. This seems like the perfect opportunity to put it to good use.”

Foggy hip checks Matt out of the way as he goes back to their room and tosses the ziplock into his open suitcase. He doesn’t say anything as he considers Matt’s offer. On the one hand, it would be nice to get out of this hell hole dorm but on the other hand, he doesn’t want to impose on Matt. A hand on his arm brings Foggy out of his thoughts and he turns to face his friend again, “Matt-”

“Foggy, I know what you’re going to say, okay?” Matt cuts him off before Foggy can finish his thought. “But I want to do this. I want us to get our own place.”

“Are you only saying this because you don’t wanna be away from me during the summer?” Foggy inquires. “If so, then I’ll have you know that you’re not getting rid of me that easy, Murdock. I plan on hanging out with you 24/7 anyway. You don’t need to get us a place just to make me stay with you.”

“But I want to. I want us to live together, Foggy. We’re going to do it after college, anyway, so why not start now?”

Foggy narrows his eyes at him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, when did we decide on moving in together after college?”

The sad look that falls across Matt’s face makes Foggy regret his choice of words immediately. 

“I'm sorry, Foggy. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Foggy takes a tentative step towards him and rests his palm against Matt's cheek. “It’s okay, Matty. I do wanna live with you but first I need to understand why you want this.” He releases a sharp breath and knows he should stop but he needs to know where this whole thing is going. “Why do you want us to live together, Matt?”

The sad look on Matt’s face is replaced with a cute little frown. “What do you mean ‘why’? You’re my best friend, Foggy. Is it so wrong that I want to spend all my time with you?”

Foggy bites down on his bottom lip as he assesses Matt. Without his glasses, Matt looks so vulnerable and open and it makes Foggy’s heart clench. He still loves this man with very fiber of his being but the last few weeks have been confusing as hell. “It’s not but, Matt, are we ever going to talk about what happened the other night?”

“What night?”

“The night you told me you were in love with Elektra. The night I told you _I_ was in love with _you_.” Foggy clarifies. He’s done beating around the bush and just wants Matt to stop pretending like none of that happened.

The pained look Matt gives him in return tells Foggy that his friend doesn’t wanna talk about this. “Do we have to do this right now, Foggy?” He asks desperately.

“Yes, Matt, we’re doing this right now.” Foggy holds his ground. “You just asked me to move in with you and you’ve been acting _weird_ for the last two weeks. You don’t leave my side- not that I mind, by the way,” he quickly adds when Matt looks like he’s about to protest. “But- but sometimes it feels like you’ll start following me into the shower. I know you don’t wanna be alone right now, babe, but this isn’t healthy and it hurts too much when you act like I’m the center of your universe when I know that's not true. The only reason you do this is because you miss Elektra too much but I’m not _her,_ Matty _._ You can’t replace her with me.” Foggy moves his hand away and then adds, “I also know you told Marci that we’re together and warned her to stay away from me.”

Foggy notices Matt clenching and unclenching his fists by his side and his heavy breathing fills their quiet room. “Don’t talk about Elektra. And no, I’m not trying to replace her with you. I just-”

“You just what Matt?” Foggy asks crossing his arms and giving Matt a pointed glare. “I’m glaring at you right now, by the way."

“Just- just because I can’t be with the person I love doesn’t mean you can’t be either,” Matt finally admits out loud. “I _need_ you, Foggy. I don’t think I can I’ll be able to take it if you leave me too.”

Foggy’s whole body tenses up and he grinds down on his teeth. He also has a sudden urge to punch his best friend in the face. “What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?” He snaps and doesn’t back down when Matt visibly flinches. Foggy throws his hands up and walks away from Matt to keep himself from grabbing Matt and shaking him. “That’s messed up, Matt. Not to mention so unfair.”

“Foggy, _I love you."_

“No, Matt! Don’t do that! Just _don’t_.” Foggy yells and his own voice cracks at the end. “You don’t love me the way I love you.”

Foggy sees tears forming in Matt’s eyes as he replies, “I can’t, Foggy. I physically can’t love you like that. You have no idea how much I want to.” He stops and angrily wipes away his tears with the back of his hand. “The universe fucked up and that’s why I _hate_ this whole soulmate bullshit. You have no idea how lucky you are that you haven’t met your soulmate yet. Having a soulmate is like having this second person in the back of your mind all the time. It’s like a constant annoying buzz that you can’t rid of you. But when I’m with you I don’t have to have to think about that annoying buzz. As horrible as this sounds, I hope you never meet your soulmate, Foggy, because they’ll take you away from me and I won’t be able to take that. You’re my soulmate in every sense of the word, no matter what this damn mark over my heart says. So yeah, I might not love you the way you love me but I know that I will someday if I try hard enough. That’s why I want us to live together because your presence keeps me from thinking about anything or anyone else.”

Foggy’s heart starts pounding in his chest and he grabs onto left hand. For a minute he thinks that maybe he should tell Matt that he has already met his soulmate. But after everything Matt just told him, he knows it won’t end well if he told him about Frank. Foggy takes a deep breath and stomps over to his suitcase and closes the lid before picking it up. “I can’t do this, Matt,” Foggy tells him. His voice sounds small and broken to his own ears. “We need some time apart. Your sudden attachment is unhealthy. Even you have to know that.”

“Foggy, please don’t leave,” Matt says desperately and reaches out towards him but Foggy moves away.

“I’ll see you after the break, Matty. Take care of yourself.”

Foggy doesn’t give his friend a hug or take another look at him as he leaves.

**July 2005**

Foggy hasn’t seen Matt or heard from him in 6 weeks. He still isn’t sure how he feels about that but he does knows that misses the guy like hell.

After he sulks around the house like a lovesick puppy for two weeks, Foggy’s mom grows tired and hooks him up with a summer job at his Aunt Roseanne’s bakery. Much to Foggy’s surprise he actually enjoys the job but it's not enough to take his mind of Matt. Every time he learns something new, he excitedly tells himself that he’s got to make it for Matty, only to then remember that he and Matt might never even talk again.

Foggy figures his mom told Aunt Rosy about his hesitance to walk home alone after dark because Aunt Rosy never keeps him at the bakery past 6 PM. Foggy’s a little annoyed that his mom would share something like that without his permission but at the same time, he is also relieved. Turns out, Matt isn’t the only one who’s dependent on him.

One evening he loses track of time because two buses full of tourists stop by at the bakery. By the time they leave, it's already eight.

“Shit, Frankie,” his aunt curses as she empties the till. “I am so sorry. I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“It’s okay, Aunt Rosy. I wasn’t about to leave you all alone with all those hungry vultures, anyway,” Foggy replies as he carries the trays of leftover butterscotch cupcakes back to the kitchen.

“Let me finish up with the inventory and money count, and then I will drop you off. It should take an hour tops,” his aunt offers.

“Nah, it’s okay, Rosy. I can manage going home after dark for one night.”

“Nonsense, Frankie,” Aunt Rosy chastises him. “Besides, your mother will kill me if I let you go out there alone.”

“I am a 20-year-old college kid, Aunt Rosy,” Foggy reminds her as he puts away the last of the baked goods. “It’s a little embarrassing that my mother thinks I can’t walk home by myself," he chuckles as he removes his apron and leaves it under the counter. “You finish up and I will see you tomorrow. Make sure you leave on time or Uncle Victor will freak out again.”

It did happen once. Foggy’s Uncle Victor was a good but albeit paranoid man. Once Aunt Rosy lost track of time and stayed out at the bakery till two-thirty in the morning. It was a busy day so Aunt Rosy forgot to charge her phone and when Uncle Victor couldn’t reach her, he ended up calling their whole extended family and freaking them out too. Needless to say, half of them still don’t talk to Victor. You should  _never_ ruin a Nelson’s sleep or they will hold a grudge against you for the rest of their miserable lives.

“But Frankie-” Aunt Rosy protests but Foggy is having none of it.

He heads out before she can forcibly tie him down to a chair and keep him around till she’s done.

Since it’s the middle of summer, Hell’s Kitchen isn’t in total darkness at eight-thirty. The sky is bright orange and it's still warm outside. Having spent all his time at the bakery for the last four weeks, the heat has bothering Foggy. 

He still passes by the “alley of doom” (as Foggy likes to call it) every day but usually, it’s bright outside so he isn’t as scared. Today it's a whole different story, though. The setting sun doesn’t illuminate the dark alley and he picks up his pace and refuses to look at the damn place as he passes by it. When Foggy’s away from the “alley of doom,” he breathes in and out a few times to calm himself down. 

But then after a few minutes, he footsteps behind him and his heart starts racing again. Keep calm. It could just be a random person walking back home, just like you. He keeps reminding himself as the footsteps get closer. Foggy’s heart starts hammering in his chest when the person is right behind him and he reaches into his pocket to take out his keys and use them as a weapon. Before Foggy can pull out the keys, the person behind him grabs him by the back of his shirt and slams him into the nearest hard surface.

Foggy yelps in pain as his back hits the brick wall and tries to uselessly punch the person but they easily block his swing.

“Franklin, it’s me.” Foggy hears a familiar voice say.

When the person removes their hoodie, Foggy gawks at them. “Maria?”

“Heyyy…” Maria trails off and gives him an awkward wave.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Foggy asks incredulously. “And more importantly why are you following? And oh my god,  _how_ did you find me?”

Maria grabs at his arms and Foggy looks into her big brown eyes in horror. 

“Calm down, Franklin. You’re freaking out.”

Foggy shrugs her hands off, “Of course, I’m freaking out. You just _attacked_ me!”

Maria looks sheepishly at him. “Yeah, sorry about that.” She hesitates for a moment and then opens her mouth again, “Okay, so there’s no easy way to say this so I’m just gonna come out and tell you. I know who you are.”

Foggy slinks back further into the wall as a thousand and one different thoughts run through his head. “Uh... excuse me?”

“I know you’re Frank’s other soulmate.”

Foggy’s gulps and blinks at her in return. “ _W-what? How?_ ”

“After you left that day, I got suspicious, especially after you outright _lied to me_. I looked you up but it turns out there is no Franklin Murdock in Hell's Kitchen. I did, however, find Franklin Nelson on the softball team at Independence High School. The same school Frank went to before he dropped out,” Maria explains and takes a step back. She crosses her arm across her chest before continuing, “Frank told me when exactly he got his first soulmate mark. He said he didn’t remember much about the guy but gave me a vague description which pretty much matched your high school picture.”

“You do realize how stalkery that sounds, right?”

Maria narrows her eyes at him, “Oh yeah? Well, you stalked my husband all way to our apartment.”

“Wait… so are you here to kill me?” Foggy squeaks out. “Because let me tell you, I have zero interest in your husband. I am still terrified of the guy. I might literally pee my pants if I ever came across him.”

“Ew TMI,” Maria scrunches up her nose in disgust. “And no, I’m not here to kill you. I’m here because I need your help.”

“My help?” Foggy balks at her. “What the hell could _I_ possibly help you with?”

Just as Maria starts to reply, Foggy’s phone rings in his pocket. “Sorry, just a second,” he apologizes and takes out the phone and flips it open to see Matt’s name flashing across the screen. “I have to take this,” he distractedly tells Maria. His stomach does a little somersault as he answers presses answer button. “Matty?”

“‘Oggy... “ Matt’s slurred voice comes from the other end and it immediately sends a panic through Foggy.

“Matt? Matty? Are you okay?” Foggy asks as he moves away from the wall.

“I- I miss you, Foggy,” Matt mumbles. He sounds drowsy, almost like he's ready to pass out. “Needed to hear your voice," he adds after a few seconds. 

Foggy's heart skips a beat and throws a worried glance towards Maria. “Matt, where are you?”

“‘M home,” Matt replies and then Foggy hears a hitch in his voice. “I messed up, Foggy. M’ sorry. M so sorry." 

“Matt, you’re scaring me, man,” Foggy tells him desperately. “Just… just stay there. I’ll be there soon.”

“It's so cold, Foggy. But I had to do it, Foggy. Had to…” he trails off and then Foggy hears a thud.

“Matt? MATT?” Foggy calls out but doesn’t get any response. He curses under his breath and hangs up. 

A hand on his arm makes Foggy look up again. “What’s wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost," Maria tells him worriedly. 

“It’s- it’s my friend,” Foggy stutters. “I think he...I think he’s in trouble.”

“Where is he? Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

“Wait. Are you sure?” Foggy asks, surprised. 

“Of course, I am,” Maria replies as she drags him behind her with a hand on his arm. “I’m not about to let you go out there on your own.”

When they come to a stop next to a Toyota Camry, Foggy looks over at her and asks, “Wait… what did you need my help with?”

“Get in the car and I’ll tell you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy and Maria save Matt and then have a long, winded conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: SELF-HARM

_**July 2005** _

To say that Foggy is terrified would be an understatement. His heart threatens to leap out of his chest with how hard it is beating right now. He’s pretty sure if Maria didn’t offer him a ride, he wouldn't have made it to Matt on his own. 

“I’m sure your friend will be fine.” Maria’s offers sympathetically. 

Foggy stops impatiently tapping his foot against the floor and throws an annoyed look her way. “You don’t know that.”

Maria sighs and briefly looks over to smile at him. “Okay, fine, maybe I don’. But it’s something people say so you know…. I thought it might help.” 

“It really didn’t. But thanks for trying. Also, thanks for taking me to my friend’s place. I know you don’t me and-” he pauses when he realizes something. “Wait… how did you know where I worked in the first place?” 

Maria shrugs and Foggy notices as her grip tightens around the wheel. “I uh- found out from your mother.” She cringes as she says it. 

“You seriously stalked me all the way back to my house?” He asks as his voice strains a little at the end. 

“I know how that sounds,” Maria replies with an edge in her voice. “But like I said, I needed your help, so I tried to find out where you lived.” 

“What could you possibly need my help with?” Foggy asks again when he remembers why exactly she came looking for him in the first place. He then anxiously looks around the car. Although Maria claims that she’s not here to harm him, Foggy still doesn’t know the woman well enough to believe her. He doesn’t see any weapons in the car, however, he does notice a booster car seat in the back with a green stuffed monkey on it. “Uh- you were pregnant the last time I saw. Where’s your kid?” He asks turning back to her. 

“She’s at home with her dad.” 

Foggy’s heart skips a beat when she mentions Castle. _The guy's back in New York. He could come looking for you any day._ Foggy's brain unhelpfully reminds him. Foggy doesn’t say anything and instead just stares at her. Suddenly his arms and legs start feeling really numb. 

Maria throws him another quick glance and her brown eyes widen, “Wait… Are you still scared of him?” She asks turning her attention back on the road again.

“O- Of course I am scared of him,” Foggy snaps, without really meaning to. “I saw him  _ kill _ someone when I was 14 years old, dude. That kinda thing leaves its mark.” 

“He wouldn’t hurt you, you know,” Maria tries assuring him. “I promise you, he won’t. He’s a changed man. If you don’t believe me then come home with me someday and-” 

“No!” Foggy yells before she can finish her sentence. His sudden outburst seems to startle Maria and she almost swerves the car into the next lane. “Shit!” Foggy hisses as he grabs onto the dashboard for support. 

“Whoa, what the hell was that?” She asks when they’re safe again. 

“I’m sorry,” Foggy mumbles and closes his eyes. “I don’t wanna meet him. I don’t think I ever can.” 

“But-” Maria protests

“Please, I can’t talk about this,” he pleads and then changes the subject. “So will you tell me what exactly you need my help with?” 

Maria lets out a long sigh, “We’re almost at your friend’s. Let’s help him first and then we can talk.” 

*

The moment they reach Matt's apartment, Foggy raises his fist to bang on the door. “Matt! Matt! Open up!” He yells but gets no response. Foggy’s heart pounds in his chest and his voice wavers as he begs, “Matt, come on, please." 

“Move aside,” Maria orders.

Foggy doesn’t protest and moves away from the door. He’s vaguely aware of Maria getting down in front of the door and using something to unlock it. When hears the click of the door, Foggy is caught somewhere between releasing a relieved breath and throwing up. On the one hand, he needs to to get to his friend. But on the other hand, he is terrified of what he might find inside the apartment. Maria goes in first and Foggy trails after her. The apartment is covered in darkness and there isn’t a single light source in sight, not that Matt needs it. This apartment building belongs to Matt’s church and they provide affordable housing to low-income families and individuals. They let Matt crash here during his breaks.  

Foggy can smell a strong scent of whiskey in the air along a hint of something coppery. This can’t be good, he tells himself as he blindly reaches around and looks for a light switch. What absolutely terrifies Foggy is the fact that he can't hear a single sound in the apartment. 

“Did you find the light?” Maria whispers, somewhere beside him. 

With his hand shaking even more now, Foggy flicks the switch and the tiny apartment lights up. The first thing Foggy notices is that the whole place is in a mess. There are empty bottles lying around the floor along with Matt's clothes. 

Foggy almost feels sick again. A hand on his arm brings him out of his thoughts and Foggy looks up to find Maria watching him in horror. She points towards something and Foggy follows the direction of her finger and his heart stops for a second when he finds the half naked body of his friend by the radiator. “MATT!” He shouts and jumps over the junk on the floor in an attempt to get to his friend. “Oh my, god, Matt, wake up,” he begs as shakes Matt. With Maria’s help, Foggy manages to turn Matt around and something between a gasp and a sob escapes Foggy’s throat at the sight of his friend. “Oh my, God,” he cries out when he notices all the blood on Matt’s chest. 

“Shit!” Maria hisses and Foggy sits there with tears running down his cheeks as she waves her hand over Matt’s nose. “He’s still breathing,” she announces. 

“He is?’ He asks in between his sobs. 

Maria grabs Foggy’s hand and presses his middle and index on the side of Matt’s neck. “Do you feel a pulse there?” 

“Huh?” He asks numbly. Foggy feels so cold and his whole body shakes in panic. 

“Do you feel a beat?” Maria asks again.

“Y-yeah, I think so- it’s slow,” Foggy manages to reply. Matt looks so pale and he has lost a few pounds during the break. Foggy can’t help but blame himself for his condition. He knew Matt was in a bad place but he still left him behind. “Oh, god, he’s going to die." Another loud sob erupts from his chest. 

“Hey, hey, Franklin, look at me, okay.” He vaguely registers Maria’s voice and then there are fingers under his chin, jerking his head up. “Your friend is alive. Do you hear me? He’s going to live. The self-inflicted slash marks on his chest are shallow but we still need to stop the bleeding, so call 911 and in the meantime, I’ll look for something to stop the bleeding. Do you understand what I'm saying?”

When Foggy nods at her, Maria gets up to leave. Foggy looks for his phone and with his still bloody fingers, he dials 911. He somehow manages to tell them what was going on and begs them to get here ASAP. 

Maria finds a few of Matt’s shirts and presses them on the wound to stop the bleeding. She is awfully calm and collected for someone with a half-dead person in front of her. 

“H-how did you know what to do?” He manages to ask her.

“After I had my daughter I decided to go back to school. I’m in the first year of a nursing program. They make us to clinical hours at the hospital so this doesn’t exactly bother me…” she trails off and doesn’t take her eyes off Matt. “He smells of booze. Do you know what happened? Why he- you know.” 

“His soulmate left him a few weeks ago. They are true soulmates,” Foggy explains as he rests his hand on Matt’s cheek. “He loved her and he just-” he stops talking when his throat tightens up and his eyes fill with tears again. He clears his throat before continuing. “I knew what he was going through- I knew he wasn't in the right mindset but I left him anyway,” he tells her as each sob wracks through his body. “Oh god, he even asked us to move in together. If I hadn’t dismissed him, this wouldn’t have happened.” 

“Hey, none of this is your fault, okay? It was  _ his _ choice. You can’t blame yourself for that,” Maria tries reassuring him but Foggy knows better.  “I don’t think he was trying to kill himself. I think he just wanted to mutilate or remove his soulmate mark,” Maria adds as she tosses away the blood soaked shirt and presses another on Matt's chest. 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Look around, do you see a suicide note anywhere?” She asks. 

Foggy looks around and he doesn’t see a paper anywhere. The only thing he finds is a bloody switchblade beside the radiator, where Matt must have dropped it when he fell. That just makes Foggy sick to the stomach. He looks back at Maria and shakes his head. “No, I don’t see a suicide note, but he's blind." Foggy informs her. ""... He called me to say he was sorry and that he had to make things right. I was his suicide note," Foggy sobs. 

“But he didn’t say goodbye," Maria points out. 

Foggy desperately wants to believe her. Matt was angry the last time Foggy saw him and judging by the amount of alcohol he consumed, he was probably still angry but doesn't mean that he wasn't trying to take his life. 

*

Minutes seem like hours as the wait for any news on Matt. Foggy’s parents tend to travel a lot so last year Foggy put down Matt as his emergency contact and since Matt doesn’t have anyone outside of his congregation, he put down Foggy as his emergency contact too. That makes times like these easier because then he doesn’t have to punch anyone for refusing to tell him whether his best friend is dead or alive. 

“So what exactly did he mean when he said that he was going to make things right?” Maria finally asks.

Foggy, who's sitting at the edge of his seat with his head buried between his hands, sniffles and looks up. “He said we should get our own place but I said no- and I left.”

“Why did you say no, if you don’t mind my asking?” 

Foggy shrugs and averts her eyes. He can still see Matt’s blood under his fingernails despite scrubbing it for a good ten minutes in the hospital bathroom. “When his soulmate left, he started getting clingy and I just- it felt like he was trying to replace her with me, you know? I couldn't live like that. It just hurt too much.” 

“Do you love him?” She questions after a few seconds of silence. 

Foggy has a feeling she already knows the answer. 

“Yeah, I do,” Foggy doesn’t bother denying it. “I told him how I felt the day he told me about his soulmate mark. I was confused and I didn’t know what to do, so I did what seemed best at the time. Matt blames himself for every little thing so I can only imagine how bad he must have felt when I- This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have put that on him. His guilt laden brain couldn’t take more guilt. It’s my fault why he hurt himself. He thought that he could make himself love me if he didn’t have the mark anymore.” Foggy feels tears rolling down his cheeks again and he wipes them away with the back of his hand. 

Maria rests her hand against his shoulder and he looks up at her again. “I don’t think you did the wrong thing by telling him how you felt and again this isn’t  _ your _ fault," she reminds him. "Your friend is a grown ass man capable of making his own decisions, good or bad. I think you did the right thing by walking away instead of encouraging him. A lesser person would have used his clingy behavior to their advantage but you didn’t and that’s what makes you good.” She adds, offering him a warm smile. “I really hope you aren’t planning on running back to him after this. It won’t do him any good if he starts believing that all he has to do to keep you around is harm himself. That’s manipulative. Get him professional help. That’s what he needs right now. There are is a better understanding of true soulmates these days. That’s why there are special counselors to help people like him through the loss of their true soulmate. Be there for him and support him as a friend, but don’t encourage his unhealthy habits." She gets off her chair before crouching on the floor in front of Foggy and taking his hands between her smaller ones. “As much as I hate to be the one to tell you this, you need to hear it right now. You have to understand that you’re not his soulmate for a  _ reason _ . The accuracy with which soulmates are assigned is almost 99%. I understand that you love him but if you encourage him and he tries to force a bond with you, it won’t end well. This whole business with true soulmates sucks,” she groans and throws her head back, “-and I really wish everyone only had platonic soulmates, we would all be so much happier and not co-dependent on another human being. I know this is probably the worst possible time to bring this but that’s why I came looking for you because my true soulmate’s life is in danger and I don’t wanna end up like your friend in there if something happens to him.” 

Foggy gulps at the mention of their shared soulmate and bites on his bottom lip. “W-what do you mean?” 

Maria pats Foggy's chair before getting up from the floor. “Do you remember that D.A. lady I told you about?” 

“Yeah,” Foggy replies unsurely. He sort of remembers the two of them talking about her two years ago. “What about her?” 

“Well, turns out that she isn’t as nice as I initially thought,” Maria replies, her jaw tight. “I just found out that she has something bigger at play and she is trying to use Frank as a pawn in her little game.” 

“Okay, you've lost me. What did she do and what does any of this have to do with me?” Foggy asks, getting a little agitated. 

Maria stops pacing and releases a sigh. “You remember Michael Giacomo, right? The guy who ordered Frank to put a hit on Adam Devine 6 years ago?” 

How can Foggy ever forget that? The name gets his heart racing again and nods solemnly. 

“Well, Michael died in prison a few months ago and one week ago I found out that D.A. Reyes was the one who put a hit on  _ him _ .” 

Foggy abruptly gets off the chair and frowns at her. “Wait, what? You're telling me that one of the biggest crime bosses of Hell's Kitchen is dead? And that the frigging D.A. put a hit on him? None of this makes any sense." He stops pacing and throws her a suspicious look. "Wait... how do _you_ know any of this?"  

“I work at her office as a part-time assistant. She got me the job to help me earn some extra cash. At first I thought she did it out of the kindness of her heart but turns out she has a reason behind everything she has done for us. She wants to us where she can keep an eye on us and control us,” Maria explains and clenches her fists by her side. “Last week she was talking to someone over the phone about the hit she put on Giacomo. She also told them how she had Frank and his friend Billy under her thumb and they weren’t going to retaliate and if they did she knew what to do with them too. I am telling you there’s something bigger at play here and she’s smack in the middle of it. I need to expose her because I don’t know what her ultimate plan is but I know it ends with my husband either dead or in prison for life.” 

“Okay,” Foggy nods carefully. “But I still don’t get what any of this has to do with me? Why do you think I can help you?”

“Because you’re the only person I know for sure isn’t working for that woman,” Maria replies and takes a few steps towards Foggy. “I can’t contact anyone from my past life and the people I am friends with right now, I know all of them through her. She wasn’t lying when she said that she has us under her thumb. I can’t ask my parents for help because they still don’t approve of me marrying Frank and even if they did help me, there will be a target on their back all the time,” she explains and looks him right in eyes as she grabs his arms. “You, on the other hand, Reyes doesn’t know a thing about you. You are my best chance at exposing her and bringing her down.” 

Foggy shrugs off her hands and takes a step back. “You don’t even know me, why would you trust me to help you? And- and what if I _am_ working for her?" 

“I know for a fact that you’re not,” Maria replies and her eyes twinkle with amusement. “And I trust you to help me because all those years ago, you could have gone to the cops and turned Frank in but you didn’t. Somewhere that soulmate bond-” she says pointing towards his left wrist. “-kept you from sending him to prison. You couldn’t do it because you feel the connection.” 

“That’s not true!” Foggy argues. “I didn’t go to the cops because I was terrified of your husband and not because of some stupid soulmate mark.” 

Maria doesn’t seem to take offense to his tone and instead just smiles at him. “I think you and I both know that that’s not true.” She then sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. “Look you don’t have to give me an answer tonight, but I know that we share a soulmate for a reason and  _ this _ is that reason. You’re meant to help me save him.“

‘You can’t know that,” Foggy shakes his head. “Look, I can’t help you bring down a powerful person like that. I am just an average 20-year-old struggling to get through college. Maybe you should ask your husband to help you?” 

“I can’t. He isn’t the kind of person who takes calm and calculated steps. I tell him any of this and he goes in guns blazing and gets himself killed before he even has a chance to touch Reyes,” she sighs and takes the phone from Foggy’s hand before he can stop her. She punches in a few numbers and then flips to close the phone before giving it back to him. “I’ve put in my number in there. Call me or text me if or when you change your mind. I have to go now but remember what I told you. Get your friend some help and  _ don’t  _ encourage his destructive behavior,” she reminds him and offers him another smile before pulling him into a hug, much to Foggy’s surprise. “I’ll see you around, Franklin.” 

“You can call me Foggy,” Foggy tells her as she starts heading for the door. “And thank you for helping me. You have no idea how much that means to me.” 

“That’s what friends are for,  _ Foggy _ ,” Maria tells him with a bright smile before heading out. 

Friends. He is now friends with the wife of the guy he has nightmares about. The same guy who also happens to be his soulmate. What was his life even?

*

It’s early morning by the time Foggy finally gets to see Matt. 

Matt looks small and pale lying there in the hospital bad with gauze wrapped around his chest. They told him that Matt tried to carve the mark out of his body. When that didn’t work, he tried a different tactic and ran the knife over the mark repeatedly to mutilate it. The doctor seemed shocked because, despite the fact that Matt can't see, he was still accurate with his slashes. Foggy threw up in the nearest bin right after that. He just couldn't stomach the whole thing. 

Right now, sitting beside Matt’s bed, Foggy feels fresh tears forming in his eyes. No matter what Maria said, he still feels guilty and blames himself for Matt’s predicament. Matt’s hurting and alone and Foggy can’t just leave him again. 

“Are you crying?” A hoarse but familiar voice jolts Foggy brings of his thoughts. 

“No, you just smell really bad, dude. The smell brought tears in my eyes," Foggy tries to joke. 

‘Foggy,” Matt mumbles and licks his dry lips. “I am so sorry.” 

Foggy reaches out and brushes Matt’s hair out of his eyes. “Just rest for now. We’ll talk about this later.” 

“No, I wanna talk about this now, Foggy. I know what I did was stupid but I- I just missed her and I missed you and I felt  _ so alone _ .” 

With those words, Foggy feels his heart break all over again. “I’m sorry I left, Matt. I should have been there for you.” 

“’s not your fault, Foggy,” Matt whispers. “I promise I wasn’t trying to kill myself. I was just trying to remove this stupid mark and then there was so much blood…” He trails off as his breath hitches. “I don’t deserve you as a friend, Foggy. Even after everything you’re still here.”  

Foggy leans in and places a kiss on Matt’s forehead. “Of course, I’m here, you idiot.” 

“And you’re not gonna leave?” Matt asks in a small, hopeful voice. 

Foggy takes a gulp of dry air as he says, “N- no, Matty. I won’t leave. I promise.” 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from good to worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, all caught up to the current timeline. Phew. This fic and King and Lionheart have a long ass flashback.
> 
> Oh, and I changed the rating because of the smut in this chapter.

_**Present Day (April 2015)** _

Ten years have passed since Foggy has had heard anything about Frank. Ten years have been passed since Foggy’s talked to Maria. Ten years passed since Foggy moved in with Matt. Ten years have also passed since Foggy got together with Matt. They’re happy. As happy as two people who aren’t soulmates can be. 

**

They took a gap year after college. They worked their asses off as paralegals at the City Attorney’s office before heading back to Columbia for Law School. 

After busting their asses for three more years, they finally graduated in Spring of 2011 and got a summer internship at one of the largest law firms in New York. From interns they became associates and the rest, as they say, is history.

Three and a half years later, they’re still at Landman and Zack but Foggy can tell that the job is taking its toll on Matt. He doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t have to. L&Z is a shady practice and Matt is nothing if not self-righteous. Foggy knows it kills him to work at a place which constantly helps crooked landlords kick out their tenants or helps CEOs get away with killing hundreds of people through their tainted drugs. 

***

“We should start out our own firm,” Matt casually suggests one day. They just came back from another meeting where the higher ups decided to help a builder whose cheap materials caused the collapse of an apartment building. 

“I know,” Foggy doesn’t even bother arguing. He knows this was a long time coming. “But we don’t have the money, Matt or a business plan for that matter.” 

“We’ll figure it out, Foggy,” he reaches over their cubicle divider and narrowly avoids knocking down Foggy’s dinosaurs. Foggy lets Matt take his hand and squeeze it. “I can’t spend another day at this place. The things they keep covering up-” 

“Yeah, it’s boring down on my soul too. A kid died this time, man, but these assholes don’t even care,” Foggy lets out a deep sigh. He takes his hand out of Matt’s grip before picking up a box and dumping all the files on the floor. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Well, I'm gonna steal as many bagels as I can fit in this box. With you as my partner, there's no telling when I'll be able to afford a real meal again.” 

“We’ll be fine,” Matt tries to assure him. “We've saved up enough.” 

“Tell that to the ridiculous rent prices of Hell’s Kitchen, babe.”

***

Foggy and Matt try to make up for their lack of a soulbond through intimacy. Touch is a big part of their relationship. Matt needs constant touches and reassurances that Foggy’s there. That he won’t leave. Foggy knows Matt still misses Elektra. It must be hard having her in the back of his mind all the time. He’s distracting himself from the noise with Foggy. It’s not healthy. Foggy knows he should have listened to Maria and sought professional help for Matt. But Matt insisted that he didn’t need help so Foggy didn't push. The whole thing still leaves Foggy’s stomach in knots but he does love Matt. Truth is, he can’t lose his best friend either. They are both codependent. They have created their own soulbond since the universe decided not to give them one. 

***

But the fact that they’re soulmates does come up. Sometimes it comes up when Foggy is least expecting it. 

***

It’s been three days since they’ve quit their jobs. Matt spent the day getting a business license today while Foggy went out looking for office spaces. They didn’t see other the whole day. 

The second Foggy gets home, Matt’s on him. Matt eats him up like his life depends on it. His lips feel raw and swollen by the time Matt’s done with them. Foggy’s clothes are thrown in different directions of the kitchen and he’s pretty sure his tie landed in the fruit basket while his underwear landed on the handle of one of the kitchen cabinets. Matt doesn’t even bother taking off his own clothes before he turns Foggy around and presses him against the countertop. Foggy feels exposed and the cold air makes him shiver. But Matt’s warm pressed up behind him.

“Wait here,” Matt orders, his voice low and dark. 

Foggy grabs onto the edges of the countertop in a death grip and nods his head. "Sorry, I just nodded, I mean, yes, I'll wait here," he stutters awkwardly. 

“Don’t move a muscle. And  _ don’t _ touch yourself.” Foggy can almost hear the smirk in Matt's voice as he adds, “You do and I’m not letting you come the whole night.” 

Foggy gulps. He then hears footsteps leading away from the kitchen. He suddenly misses the warmth of Matt’s body. Despite the fact that they’re the only two people in the house, Foggy still feels exposed standing there naked from head to toe. His leather cuff is the only thing that’s on his body right now. Foggy bites down on his lips and resists the urge to reach down and touch his hard cock. 

A relieved breath escapes Foggy’s lips when he hears Matt come back. Matt’s behind him again, "Good boy." His breath tickles the hairs on the back of Foggy’s head. Those two words make Foggy tremble with need. 

Foggy hears Matt flip open a bottle. A few seconds later, a bottle of lube lands beside him on the counter before Matt’s wet, cold fingers trail down towards his hole. Foggy let out a sound that's something between a gasp and a moan as one of Matt’s thick, callused fingers finds its way inside him. A second finger joins the first one soon. Matt breathes heavily against Foggy’s neck as his fingers open up Foggy up. A chant of  _ fuck _ ,  _ fuck _ ,  _ fuck _ , escape Foggy’s throat. It always feels so good having Matt inside him but he needs more. Foggy bends forward against the counter and rests his forearms on the hard surface. 

“ _ Please _ ,” he gasps. 

Foggy lets out a frustrated whine when Matt abruptly stops and his fingers slide out of him. 

Foggy feels Matt’s fully clothed body press against his back again. His wet lips find their way to Foggy’s ear and his harsh breath tickles Foggy’s ear canal. “Please, what?” 

Foggy let out another frustrated noise and backs his ass against Matt’s crotch. He bites down on his lips when he feels Matt’s hardened cock through his pants. “ _ Fuck,  _ you know what, asshole. _ ”  _ It’s probably not the best idea to antagonize Matt when he has the control here and can stop anytime he wants. 

“Maybe, if you ask nicely then I’ll give you what you want, sweetheart,” Matt whispers in his ear. Foggy can hear the infuriating smirk in his voice again. 

Foggy doesn’t waste a second before saying, “Fuck me.” 

Matt clicks his tongue and slowly trails his clean index finger down Foggy’s spine, leaving goosebumps in his wake. “I said  _ nicely _ .” 

“P- please,” Foggy stutters, closing his eyes. 

Matt goes very,  _ very  _ quiet behind him. 

Foggy’s heart races in his chest. The anticipation is killing him. He doesn’t have to wait long, though. He soon hears Matt unbuckling his slacks. 

Matt reaches out towards the counter again and Foggy hands him the lube. When he’s done applying the lube to his own cock, Matt tosses aside the bottle again. Early on in their relationship, they learned just how much they enjoyed barebacking and started using PrEp just to be on the safe side. 

Foggy reaches behind him and helps guide Matt’s cock inside himself. It’s something that he’s been doing since they started sleeping together. 

When Matt’s fully sheathed inside him, Foggy grabs onto the edges of the counter again and bites down on his lips. 

Matt grabs onto Foggy’s hips into a death grip and waits. “ _God,_ you always feel so good,” he breathlessly whispers against Foggy’s ear and clamps onto his earlobe with his sharp teeth.

“M- move,” Foggy insists. “Please,” he adds before Matt can ask him to. 

A dark chuckle reverberates through Matt’s chest and places a gentle kiss behind Foggy’s ear. “Good boy,” he says again. 

Foggy really loves those two words. 

Without a warning, Matt’s hips thrust against Foggy’s, sending him forward. The edge of the counter digs against his stomach.

Matt's pulls all the way out and repeats the motion. His belt buckle jingle in the process. 

Foggy moans loudly as Matt keeps fucking him over and over again. He feels a sheen of sweat forming on the back of his neck. 

“Fuck,” Foggy moans a little louder when he feels the wetness of Matt’s tongue on the base of his skull as he licks off the sweat. 

Matt moves one of his hands and wraps it around Foggy's neglected cock, much to his relief. His hand slides along Foggy’s cock in time with the thrusts. 

“Fuck, you feel so good, baby,” Matt whispers against his ear. “Always so tight, no matter how much I fuck you.” 

Foggy whines when Matt’s thrusts get harder and quicker. It’s too much. He knows he’s not going to last long. The pressure builds and his toes curl against their tiled floor. He clenches his eyes shut again and leans further into the counter. 

“I’ll ruin you for anyone else,” Matt growls this time. His fingernails dig into Foggy’s hips, making him yelp and open his eyes. “Even if you meet your soulmate, you’ll still come back to me."

And just like that he ruins the mood. “Stop,” Foggy pants and loosens his own grip on the counter. 

Matt immediately stops moving. “What?” 

“I’m not in the mood anymore.” 

Matt unwinds his hand from where it’s wrapped around Foggy’s cock and lets his own still hard cock slide out of Foggy’s ass. 

“What’s wrong?” Matt asks as Foggy stays pressed up against the counter. 

Foggy feels a spark of anger rush through his body at that. “ _ What’s wrong _ ?” He asks, turning around to face Matt. “The thing you just said in my ear, Matt, that’s what’s wrong.” 

“Well, it's the truth,” Matt points out and shrugs his shoulders. 

It feels weird having this conversation when he’s fully nude and Matt’s standing there fully clothed with his cock sticking out of his pants. But Foggy decides to ignore it and continues, anyway because if he doesn’t then this conversation will be swept under the rug again. Amongst other things. 

“Are you serious? I’m not some pet, Matthew. I won’t come back running to you every time you blow a whistle.”  _ Liar _ . Says a voice in the back of his head. The voice isn’t wrong. 

“I never said you were a pet.” Matt’s voice is infuriatingly calm. “But you love  _ me, _ and push comes to shove, you’ll always pick me over your soulmate.” He’s so as-a-matter-of-fact about it, it’s almost patronizing. 

“You don’t know that.” 

“I do.” 

Foggy doesn’t know why but that just pisses him even more. Not one to be deterred, he takes a step towards Matt and gets right in his face as he says, “You’re wrong. You and I both know that the day Elektra returns, you’ll go running right back to her. So don’t think for a second that I wouldn’t do the same the day I meet my soulmate.” 

10 years later, Foggy still hasn’t told Matt that he has already met his soulmate. Now he doesn’t think he ever will. 

***

After Foggy returns to his bedroom, he hears the front door slam shut. He tosses and turns in bed for what seems like hours before he finally falls asleep. 

Foggy startles awake sometime during the night when he feels something wet against his lips. It’s still dark throughout the room and Foggy can see a hooded figure hovering him. HIs heart lurches up to his throat and he’s about to scream when a hand clamps over his mouth. 

“Shhh… It’s just me.” 

The scream dies on his lips when he hears a familiar voice. Foggy pushes the hand aside, ignoring just how sticky and bruised they feel. “What the hell are you doing?” 

Matt lowers his hood. Thanks to the streetlight outside, Foggy can vaguely see the blood on the edge of Matt’s lips. He immediately sits up on the bed and reaches out to touch his boyfriend’s face. “What happened?” 

“Bar fight,” Matt grumbles before reaching around Foggy’s head and tugging on his hair. He brings Foggy’s face towards himself and kisses him again. This time Foggy tastes the coppery taste of blood. 

“Wait.” Foggy unwinds Matt hand from his hair. With his empty hand, he reaches out to turn on the bedside lamp before examining Matt’s hand. They are indeed bloody and bruised. “Shit. Your hands, Matt.” 

“They’re fine.” 

Foggy gives him an unamused look at that. “I am glaring at you right now,” he announces before reaching out to touch his face again. There is a small bruise near his eye but other than that he doesn’t look like he’s hurt much. “How does a blind guy get away without any bruises in a bar fight?” 

“I just have good reflexes.” Foggy can't argue with that. Matt takes his hand out of Foggy’s grip. He wraps it around his throat and kisses him again. 

Foggy can feel the blood smearing on his neck and that really shouldn’t turn him on but it does. Matt’s kiss is hungry and desperate. His body is practically vibrating with energy. He gently squeezes Foggy’s throat and eats up the yelp Foggy lets out. Matt lowers Foggy on the bed again and gets on top of him, without breaking the kiss. 

When Foggy runs out of breath, he pushes at Matt’s chest and his boyfriend finally stops kissing him but doesn’t venture far. He keeps his hand around Foggy’s throat and presses their foreheads together. “Marry me,” he whispers. 

Foggy goes still for a second. “What?” He asks incredulously. Thinking (hoping) he has misheard Matt. 

Matt rubs his callused thumb along Foggy’s throat. Foggy takes in a dry gulp and waits for him to say something. 

“Marry me,” Matt says a little louder this time. He sounds more confident than he did before. 

Foggy’s heart skips and he stares up at his boyfriend. He’s almost expecting Matt to burst out laughing. He doesn’t. 

“Matt-” Foggy starts to say but that’s when a loud noise startles him. 

Matt moves his hand away and Foggy looks over to find his phone ringing on the nightstand. Foggy could kiss whichever telemarketer decided to give him a well-timed call at 2 in the morning. 

“I have to take that,” Foggy tells Matt and waits for him to move. While Foggy answers his phone, Matt gets out of bed and head towards the living room. His head is hanging like a little kid and Foggy almost feels bad. 

“Foggy, it’s Maria.” The voice on the other end of the phone says. 

“Wh-” Foggy starts to ask distractedly when it hits him. “Maria? What the hell- how did you get this number?” 

“That’s not important, Foggy. I need to meet you. Tomorrow if possible. It’s urgent.” She sounds almost desperate and not to mention, scared. Foggy can hear a kid in the background. Maria shushes them before asking, “You still there?” 

“Yeah, uh- I’m here. It’s been almost 10 years, Maria. Why would you call me now, out of nowhere?” 

“I can’t tell you much over the phone, Foggy. Can you meet me at the cafeteria of the New York General tomorrow?” 

“The General?” Foggy panics. “Are you hurt?” 

“No, I work there. Meet at 10 on the dot. I’ll hopefully see you then.” 

The line goes dead and Foggy just sits there clutching onto his phone. 

***

In the morning, Foggy wakes up to a warm body pressed up behind him. He isn’t sure when Matt decided to join him. He decides to enjoy the warmth for a few more minutes. 

“Mmm… where are you going?” Matt grumbles and nuzzles his face into Foggy’s neck as he starts to get up. 

“Unlike you, I have a bunch of stuff to do today.” 

“Skip it. Stay in bed,” Matt sleepily mumbles. 

“You can stay in bed,” Foggy chuckles. “In fact, I order you to stay in bed. And when I get home tonight, we’re having a talk about that bar fight you got into yesterday. I have so many questions. Like how are you still alive?” 

Matt stays quiet for a bit before asking, “Is that the only thing we're talking about?” 

Foggy really wishes he hadn’t brought that up. “Uh nope, bar fights don’t have a monopoly on our nightly conversations. We can talk about other stuff too.” 

Matt doesn’t say anything after that and lets Foggy go. 

***

As Foggy heads out to meet Maria that morning, he overhears a conversation of one of the neighbors. They're talking about some guy in the next building over who was almost beaten to death last night. He’s apparently in critical condition. Foggy thinks back to Matt’s bruised hands and a seed of doubt plants itself in his head. He immediately shakes it off. There's no way Matt would go beat up a random guy. Would he?

***

Foggy’s forgotten all about the guy by the time he gets to the General. He’s a little late but he has no problem finding Maria in the cafeteria. She’s dressed up in her blue scrubs and sitting at a corner table with a large cup of coffee in front of her. Her hair’s darker now than it was 10 years ago. Other than that, she looks the same. 

“Wow, leave some coffee for the rest of us,” Foggy jokes as he takes a seat in front of Maria. 

A huge smile spreads across her face when she looks up at him. “I knew you would come!” 

“You a psychic now too?” 

“Yep and I charge by the hour,” Maria replies but then smacks a hand over her face. “That came out wrong.” 

“Meh, I’ll let it slide.” Foggy smirks before adding, “For now.” 

“Well, I see you haven’t changed. That’s good.” 

“Yep, I’m the same old’ me. How’ve you been?” 

The smile slides off Maria’s face. “I’ve been, you know, okay I guess.” 

“What’s going on?” 

Maria reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pen drive, which she settles on the table between them. “This has everything that can bring DA Reyes down.” 

“What?” Foggy gawks at her. “You’ve been collecting stuff on her for the last 10 years?” 

“Not exclusively,” Maria shrugs. "Just here and there. Whatever I could get my hands on.” 

“And what exactly  _ did _ you get your hands on?” 

“The things she has done. The people she has helped rise in the ranks of the New York crime chain.” Her hands tremble around the coffee cup and she leans forward before adding, “All the gangs, all the criminal networks, lead back to her. There’s this name that keeps popping up  _ The Blacksmith _ . I don’t know who this person is but something tells me it’s Reyes herself.” 

“Damn,” Foggy mumbles under his breath. “What are you going to do?” 

“I can’t do anything. She’s onto me. I know for a fact that my days are numbered. That’s why I need you to take this.” She slides the pen drive towards Foggy. “If anything happens to me. I need you to take this to The Bulletin.” 

“What?” Foggy has no idea what’s going on. “Wait, why do you want  to take this to the newspaper? We need to take it to the police.” When she looks like she’s about to protest, Foggy quickly adds. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t help you all those years ago. I was just a kid. I didn’t know _how_ to help you-” 

“I know, Foggy,” Maria assures him and reaches out to take his hand. “I don’t blame you for anything. It was unfair of me to ask for your help, especially when you didn’t even know me. I wouldn’t do this today either but I just- I needed to give this to someone who Reyes couldn’t get to. And we can’t go to the police. Reyes is the D.A., she has the cops in her pocket. I have the upper hand right now because she knows I have something on her. That’s the only reason I’m alive but I know I won’t be for long. That’s why I need you to promise me. If something happens to me, take this to The Bulletin. If by some miracle I do make it, then you and I can find this Blacksmith person together.” 

Foggy’s heart is racing in his chest now. He squeezes Maria’s hand before saying, “Maria, listen to me. I can get you into witness protection. I am a lawyer, I have the ability to do that. Did you tell your husband about this?” 

“No,” she solemnly shakes her head. “But I will. He’s coming back home this week.” 

“Okay, tell him what’s going on.” Foggy bites down on his lips before adding. “Once you do, I can get you and your family into WITSEC. I promise you won’t have to deal with the local cops. You’ll only deal with the Marshalls and they’ll get you somewhere safe.” 

“I don’t know, Foggy-” 

“ _ Maria _ ,” Foggy warns her. “You can’t just go ahead and martyr yourself for the cause. Think of your daughter.” 

“You sound like my friend, Claire,” she notes with an amused smile. “And I  _ am _ thinking of my daughter and my son.” 

“You have a son too?”

“I do. He’s 6,” Maria replies with a fond smile. “My kids need to know that their mom is a fighter just like their dad. And that she didn’t just run away when things got bad.” 

“Yeah, but if you stay then you put their lives at risk too,” Foggy reminds her and lets go of her hand. “Let me help you.” 

Maria seems to consider his offer for a few seconds and then gives him a reluctant nod. “Okay. And I’m sorry for involving you in this, Foggy. I know they’re watching me so I can’t guarantee that they won’t come after you too.” 

And that’s exactly what Foggy was worried about. “I can take of them,” he says, trying to lighten up the mood. “I didn’t build these guns for nothing,” he chuckles pointing at his biceps. 

Maria laughs and shakes her head. “You are something, Foggy Nelson,” she tells him and then starts playing with her coffee cup. “So… how’s your friend?” 

Foggy stops smiling the second she mentions him. “Matt? He’s good.” 

“Let me guess. You’re still with him?” She tilts her head to the side and gives him a knowing smile. 

Foggy sighs. “Yeah, I am. We’ve been together for almost 10 years now,” he pauses and licks his lips before adding, “He asked me to marry him.” 

“Oh. Wow. What did you say?” 

“Well, let’s just say I got a call from an old friend before I could answer him last night.” 

Maria bites down on her tongue and gives him a sheepish look. “Yikes. Some timing I have.” 

“You have no idea.” 

“So what are you _going_ to say?” She asks curiously. 

“Honestly? I don’t know yet.” 

“Well, if you have to think about it then you already know the answer,” she points out. 

“I can’t just say no to him,” Foggy panics a little. “I love him.”

“Although you didn’t take my last advice.” She gives him a pointed look. “Here’s another one. Don’t rush into a marriage if you’re not ready. It’s extremely rare for someone who has a true soulmate to marry someone else. I hate to be a Debbie Downer here but the fact of the matter is that if his soulmate comes back someday, he’ll have a real hard time staying away from them.” 

“I know,” Foggy sighs again and looks down at the uninteresting white table. He _does_ know. He always did. He never deluded himself into believing that his relationship with Matt would last forever. 

“I’m so sorry, Foggy,” she apologizes and reaches out to touch his hand. 

“It’s fine. I always knew our relationship would eventually end. I just hoped it wouldn’t be so soon.” 

They fall into an uncomfortable silence before Maria clears her throat. “I should get going now,” she tells him, removing her hand. “Please keep this pen drive somewhere safe. Make copies if possible. And again, I am so sorry to involve you in this and put your life at risk.” 

“It’s fine, Maria,” Foggy assures her.  

“I need you to promise me something,” she asks reluctantly. 

“What?” 

“If-  _ if  _ something does happen to me. I need you to look out for Frank. He’s not going to be able to take it and our kids- they’ll need him more than ever. So  _ please _ , Foggy. Please promise me that you will look out for him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” 

Maria looks like she’s close to tears and despite the fact that he’s still scared of Castle, he really doesn’t want to disappoint her. 

“Nothing will happen to you, Maria-” 

“Foggy, please.” Her pleading brown eyes break Foggy’s heart a little. 

“Yes, okay, I- I promise. I will look out for Castle,” he assures her. “But nothing will happen to you so you can look after your husband and your kids yourself,” he adds with a smile.

“Thanks, Foggy. Now, take this,” she picks up the pen drive and hands it to him. “Make sure it gets to Ben Urich at The Bulletin. He’s the only person we can trust to publish the truth.” 

“Okay. I’ll make sure this gets in the right hands,” Foggy promises. 

Maria gets up from the chair and Foggy follows suit. She gives him a tight hug and a quick peck on the cheek. “Take care of yourself, Foggy. These people are dangerous. You need to watch your back.” 

“Don’t worry about me. You look after yourself and seriously consider my offer.” 

As Foggy watches her leave, he gets this sinking feeling in his stomach that something bad is about to happen. He carefully stores away the pen drive in his coat pocket and although the thing is tiny, it still feels like a huge burden. 

***

A week later as Foggy’s watching the evening news, waiting for Matt to get home, the floor gets pulled right from underneath his feet.

There was apparently a shootout at Central Park earlier today. A bunch of people were killed in the crossfire and amongst the dead were a Castle family. 

Foggy’s hopes that this isn’t the same Castle family is shattered when he sees Maria’s face plastered on his screen. 

He digs his fingernails into the arm of the couch. He knows this was no random gang shootout. This was a carefully calculated hit. But he has no way of proving it. 

He feels his eyes prickle with tears and he reaches out to wipe them before picking up the remote. Just as he’s about to turn off the TV, the News Reporter claims that there was one survivor amongst the people who were shot. He was in critical condition. Foggy heart skips a beat when she tells them the name of the survivor. Frank Castle. 

Foggy barely knows Castle but he still feels a sense of relief wash over him. With a shaky hand, he reaches towards his left hand and slides off the leather cuff. The initials F.C. still stare back at him. They have slightly faded but they are still there. Like they’re trying to hold onto the last bit of hope. 

Foggy tosses aside the cuff before getting out of the couch and heading to his room. He opens his nightstand and takes out the small jewelry box. He takes out the pen drive and looks at it. He made a promise to Maria and if- when Castle makes it he’ll need to know the truth. 

Foggy clutches the pen drive in his hand but then his eyes land on his and Matt’s law school graduation picture that sits on the nightstand. His heart sinks as he watches Matt’s stupid, bright smile. If he does this then he puts a target on Matt’s back too. And Karen. Their new friend just got over a trauma of being framed for murder. Then she almost got killed herself. If someone comes after Foggy, then they’ll come after Matt and Karen too. He couldn’t let his family end up like Maria’s. 

Foggy puts the pen drive back in the jewelry box and stows it away, deep into his wardrobe. 

 


End file.
